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"We don't feel much support most days. Let's not make today most days." So said Dallas Police Chief David Brown following a horrific night in his town when five police officers were killed by sniper fire. Three people are in custody and one suspect is dead after apparently being killed by a robot bomb. Here's the latest from the Dallas Morning News.
+ The immediate tragedy is the loss of life in the Minnesota, Baton Rouge, and Dallas shootings. The longterm tragedy is the fact that these events are all being used as just another excuse for us to hate on one another. Much of that hate is now taking place on social media, where powerful live and recorded videos of violence captivate us. I'm not sure if access to social media increases our level of hate, or if it merely holds up a mirror to the vile contempt that's always been there. Either one of those conclusions is pretty sad. Former congressman (and current blowhard) Joe Walsh was among the most sickening voices on the Internet. But he was hardly alone.
Cameras are everywhere these days. And you're always on. Your response to this new reality probably depends on who you are. Here are a couple of possible reactions: White people: "I'm worried about living in a surveillance society." Black people: "Keep those cameras rolling." Videotaped fatalities at the hands of police seem to be confirming a story that many Americans have been telling us for years. Georgtown's Paul D. Butler sums up the impact of police shootings caught on camera: "A lot of white people are truly shocked by what these videos depict; I know very few African-Americans who are surprised. The videos are smoking-gun evidence, both literally because they are very graphic, which generates outrage, and figuratively, because people believe their own eyes." From the NYT: The Videos That Are Putting Race and Policing Into Sharp Relief.
+ Fortune's Mathew Ingram: "Sometimes, the ubiquity of smartphone cameras brings us touching moments from our friends' lives or the unintentional joy of a Chewbacca Mom video. Other times, it brings death in close -- to the point where it is impossible to ignore." A day after the Baton Rouge shooting hit the Internet, the aftermath of another shooting was broadcast on Facebook Live. From Diamond Reynolds who broadcasted the moments after her boyfriend was shot by police: "I wanted it to go viral."
I've been obsessively tracking news trends for most of my adult life and I can report that the start of every Olympics is preceded by a series of articles explaining why the whole thing will be a disaster. Then the Olympics happen, and everyone has a nice time. But this is 2016, the year of Trump, Brexit, and Icelandic soccer victories. And this is Rio, where we've got Zika, super bacteria, a police strike, body parts washing up on a beach, and a dead mascot. So yes, I still cling to the belief that all pre-Olympics disaster pieces are little more than hype. But this is definitely the year we test that theory. From PRI: Seven very bad omens for the Rio Olympics.
"Although there is evidence of potential violations of the statutes regarding the handling of classified information, our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case." And with that statement, FBI Director James Comey announced there would be no criminal charges in the Hillary Clinton email probe. (Now that they're done with Hillary, the FBI should go after parents who hit reply-all on school related emails.) Will this be the final chapter in an email saga that made our own stuffed inbox problems seem like a pleasant refuge? Not likely. I heard MSNBC and Fox News just ordered season two of Inbox.
"To die from a healthcare associated infection [is] probably more likely than dying in a car accident." Vice helps you answer a pressing question: How scared should I be of hospitals? (The correct answer: Shitless.) I have a feeling that in the future, the idea of gathering sick people together at hospitals and pharmacies will be viewed as having been completely nuts.
"And now the fun begins. The science." So said Scott Bolton as NASA's solar-powered Juno spacecraft capped off a five year journey and entered Jupiter's orbit. It's another reminder of the power of human ingenuity and of just how hard it is to get the song Drops of Jupiter out of one's head.
+ Quartz: The incredible things that had to go just right for Juno to reach Jupiter.
From Vanity Fair's Nancy Jo Sales: Daddies, Dates, and the Girlfriend Experience: Welcome to the New Prostitution Economy. "It's become like a thing people say when they can't make their rent ... 'Well, I could always just get a sugar daddy,' ‘I guess I could just start camming,' And it's kind of a joke, but it's also not because you actually could. It's not like you need a pimp anymore. You just need a computer." (I'm sticking with using my computer to share news compilations; at least until I know you better.)
"The president also watches ESPN, reads novels or plays Words With Friends on his iPad." The NYT's Michael D. Shear with a really interesting look at how the president spends his evenings, mostly alone. Obama After Dark. (I wonder if the *NYT *is now hiring headline writers from Cinemax?)
Snapchat's original appeal was that you could send images to people that would disappear shortly after they were viewed. Maybe it's the size of the social network or the fact that no one really cares about having their naked selfies disappear anyway. Whatever it is, Snapchat is moving further and further away from disappearing messages with a new product called Memories. These days, the only thing that disappears is our privacy.
+ In introducing the new feature, Snapchat may have come up with the most "tech" headline ever.
Congratulations. Our generation has effectively ended the age of the couch potato. It turns out that the "inertness of the potato metaphor ... is most at odds with the jitteriness of digital life." (So you've evolved from being a couch potato into being a basket case.) From Laurence Scott in The New Yorker: What Ever Happened To The Couch Potato? My parents asked each other that question for years after I finally moved out of the house.
What to Binge: All the EU-related hubbub makes this the perfect weekend to binge watch the Danish series called Borgen. It's like West Wing meets Copenhagen.
+ What to Book: Steve Hamilton is finally starting to get the the recognition he deserves with his well-reviewed novel: The Second Life of Nick Mason. Order that, but first read Hamilton's book, The Lock Artist. I couldn't put it down.
+ What to Stream: Nothing But Thieves is an excellent band out of Essex. And you're going to love them. You can warm up with the official video for their hit, Trip Switch, then move on to a live version of Itch. And if you are so moved, here's their full set from the PinkPop festival.
+ What to Geek: Tired of dragging your glasses to a restaurant just so you can read the menu without turning on your iPhone light? Grab a pair (or two) of these ThinOptics stick anywhere reading glasses. They fit into a flat case that sticks to your mobile phone. I love mine (even though I'm nowhere near old enough to need them).
"I even considered reacting with negative emoji (social media's nuclear option), but I just couldn't make a case for expending the energy it would require to press the outer edge of my right thumb against a metal trackpad that's never more than a few centimeters away." I Hate Your Facebook Status Update.
+ "When we were in the elevator on the way to the room, my dad (who built himself into one of Northern California's top real estate developers) sniffed a couple times and said, 'You can smell the kitchen from here. That's a sign this place wasn't well built.' At that moment, I didn't need any more evidence that the Taj Mahal would fail. But I got some." A personal story from me: Trump's Casino and The Untold Story of the Night the House Lost.
+ Nine Musically Talented Game Of Thrones Stars. (There are some show spoilers in here, including the fact that Ramsay is a singer-songwriter.)
+ Speaking of spoilers, here's one: Aloe vera is a lie.
+ Forget possessions. Peak experiences are everything. For happiness, spend your money on travel and living, not on stuff. Pack your bags, head for the airport, and ... oh wait, it turns out buying new stuff can also make you happy.
+ Is the FDA exaggerating the risks of eating raw cookie dough? Related question: Is life worth living without it?
+ Remember Erik Estrada from CHiPs? Well, he's a real police officer now. This is another example of life imitating schlock.
+ Gizmodo: Seeing how sex dolls are made is hauntingly eerie. (And unnervingly enjoyable.)
This is a weekly best-of version of the NextDraft newsletter. For daily updates and to get the NextDraft app, go here. (Original story reprinted with permission from NextDraft.)
